Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Duda.
Hi Andrew, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have personally been a long-time fan of tabletop gaming. This includes board games, trading card games, etc. I have many fond memories from my youth of playing games with friends. For me it was also a good way to easily connect with new people and to get to know them on a more personal level. Plus, I enjoy the mental exercise that comes with gaming: figuring out strategies and the puzzle behind each different game.
Fast forward a decade or so. I got married, we had kids, and now we use those same games to have good quality family time with each other. There is just something special about sitting at the table together, face-to-face enjoying a conversation, and working through a game together with no phone or screen to get in the way.
We would introduce other families to some of our games and enjoyed watching them connect with each other, too. Most of them would become game fans shortly after playing the first game we taught them to play. I’m fairly certain we’re guilty of creating a new addiction for several families! That’s when I realized how much I enjoy teaching people how to play games and watching them figure out their own strategies and playstyles.
By then, we had accumulated quite the collection of games, and that’s when we got the idea to open our store. That was three years ago. We opened at the very beginning of the worldwide lockdown due to covid (smart right?). But God provided for our needs, and we have been super blessed to have not only survived but grown. We now have the largest selection of games in town for sale. We also have a dedicated gaming room with almost four hundred different games that people can play right in our store. I still teach groups how to play the games they choose, too. We have a great Pokémon group that meets weekly and are getting into hosting organized play for the new Disney Lorcana game. We also offer game rentals that folks can take home for a few days, try it out, and bring it back.
It has been very satisfying for me to watch the different kinds of people visit our shop and meet new friends through our business. We have acquired many new friends ourselves! We’re looking forward to many more years of the same!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Our three years in business haven’t been what I’d call smooth, but they have been blessed. We started with about 450 square feet of space for our first year of business. That gave us the opportunity to become known in our community and establish ourselves as a source for great games. Almost exactly a year after opening, we were offered the opportunity to expand into a larger space. With Covid restrictions lifted, it was the perfect time. The new space allowed us to offer a game room and a designated rental library (not to mention more retail space). Our location in downtown Terrell has been a slow build. We are experiencing a rebirth in that area and are thrilled to be a small part of that. With that has also brought a dependence on organic marketing. Word of mouth has been amazing. The more people who discover our gem of an area, the better.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Bard Owl Games?
We are a friendly local game store (FLGS). We specialize in the sale of tabletop games. This includes board games, trading card games, role-playing games, and more. We also sell puzzles and model kits such as Gundam. We have a game room with nearly four hundred different games that people can play in-store or rent to take home and try. We host various events at our store, including Pokémon League, Lorcana organized play, Dungeons & Dragon’s sessions, and birthday parties.
We are known for our great customer service.
What sets us apart from many stores like ours is our game rental library. With nearly four hundred games to choose from, there is a game that just about anyone can enjoy.
We are most proud of the community we have! We have groups that meet for several different kinds of events. All of them are super-friendly, inviting, and helpful to those who are new to the gaming hobby. We pride ourselves in providing a safe, family-friendly atmosphere for everyone to enjoy.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
For us, credit goes to God for Him providing our needs.
A special thanks goes to Kristy Dooley of Whisked Away Bake House. She was the main reason that we were able to get the start that we did. Without her, we likely would not have been able to even open.
Our community of friends was a huge help in getting our newer space set up. We even had customers come to help us arrange and organize the new space at the time we moved.
Contact Info:
- Website: bardowlgames.com
- Instagram: @bardowlgames
- Facebook: Facebook.com/BardOwlGames
- Twitter: @owl_bard
